What is True Brotherly Love?

By Al Fry

November 1, 2023

To me, this is a deep thought-provoking question. Do I practice it?

According to Jesus:

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

This seems impossible and is impossible without Jesus in our hearts. Even then it isn't something that happens without much prayer and conscious choices. Can we truly love one another if we think our neighbor, friend, fellow church member, etc. must do, think, speak, dress, and live like we do? Are we not judging a person if we think like that?

These are questions every born-again, Spirit-led believer will eventually ask. Do we then justify ourselves, or do we go to the Word and ask God in the Spirit what the answers are? Jesus said:

“But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matt 12:7).

Is there any way that doesn’t mean that we are not to force our opinions on others?

Does the Word of God give us the right to force others to live as we do, or forfeit becoming members and participating in communion with us? Do we have the fear of God in us if we are not afraid to do these things?

These are serious questions. I believe if we are doing these things without God’s blessing, permission, and instruction to do them, we are living in sin. Please, brothers, read the Bible and pray for the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit in all your decisions in life. Let's live out our faith like the early Anabaptists, follow Jesus, and always ask before interacting with others, “What would Jesus do and/or say?”

Brotherly love is consoling and comforting the hurting, the grieving, and the broken-hearted. Brotherly love is waking up each day and choosing to do or be someone special to someone who needs us, whether they are a Christian or not. Jesus healed one of His arresting malefactor's ears. Do we think that man was loving Him? I like to think that he changed his life and became a follower, all because of brotherly love. If we do not have brotherly love, we have nothing.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

Paul is using the word charity here with the meaning of brotherly love. Brotherly love does not ever allow us to condemn nor look down upon someone if they don't look, think, act, believe, and live like we think they should.

Jesus stayed so far away from that mindset that we have no choice but to do the same if we want to meet Him in heaven and live for Him today! When I think about how brotherly love works and looks, I envision a gathering of two or more people sharing their hopes, plans, struggles, questions, thoughts, feelings, and how they worship God with zero fear of being ostracized, looked down upon, or singled out regardless of who they are. How can the Anabaptist vision that our forefathers so strongly believed in that they gave their lives for be restored?

 

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